Grain-drill



J. TnAvls, 1n.

GRAIN DRILL.

(Applicatiorfled Max'. 15, 18981) Patented sept. '27, lass.

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

Patented sept. 27,1998'.

No. s||,5a2. l l

J. TRAVIS, 1ni GRAIN DRILL.

(Applikation mea mi. 1u, 1898.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets--Sheet 2.

/6 Y6 2f 27` l? 2a Tle 5.' y Invenzrr;

, .JAMEsH/q W5, JR.,

trice. l

JAMEs'TRAvIs, JR., or cAsoADE, MONTANA. j

GRAIN-DRILL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 611,582, dated September 27, 1898.

I Application led March 15, 1898. Serial No. 673,968. (No model.)

To all wwmf t may concern:

Be it known that l, JAMES TRAVIS, J r., a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Cascade, Cascade county, State of Montana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grain-Drills; and my preferred manner of carrying out the invention is set forth in the following full, clear, and exact description, terminating with claims particularly specifying the novelty.

This invention relates to seeders and planters, and more especially to that class thereof known as grain-drills, and the objects of the same are not only to produce a machine of this character having improved details of construction as set forth below, but also to mount the same removably on an ordinary truck, such as the running-gear of a farmwagon. A

To this end the invention consists in a graindrill constructed substantially as hereinafter described and as more fully illustrated in the drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section. Fig. 2 is a plan view. Fig. 3 is a cross-section through the seedbox, looking from the rear. Fig. 4 is a cross-section through the rear axle. Fig. 5 is a detail in longitudinal section of one of the plows with its drill, its brace, and its connections for attaching it to the main frame. Fig. Gis aplan view of a modified form of th agitator-driving mechanism. 1

In the drawings is shown the ordinary running-gear or truck of a farm-wagon, consisting of the reach 1, attached to the rear axle 2 and pivoted by a king-bolt 3 to the front axle 4, both axles having wheels 5, as usual, and the front axle having eyes or clips 6, to which shafts 7 (or a pole) may be attached for effecting the steering of the machine. No novelty is claimed on this running-gear of itself.

10 is the frame of my improved machine, having at its front end an eye 11,forward of the king-bolt 3, and to which eye the draft-power is attached, so that the horse or team will propel the machine by a direct pull on the main frame 10 instead of on the running-gear. The front end of this frame is attached to the running-gear by said king-bolt 3, while 12 12 are two uprights removably bolted, as at 13, to the rear axle 2 and extending upward through the frame 10, as best seen in Fig. 1.

' 14 is an L-shaped lever pivoted at its rear end in eyes 15, rising from the frame 10, pivotally connected at its angle to eyes 16 in the uprights 12, and pivotally connected at its upper end .bya rod 17 with a lever 18, which stands adjacent the drivers seat 19, and has the usual thumb-lever moving over a toothed segment 18. From this construction it will be clear that the driver by manipulating the hand-lever 18 can cause the L-shaped lever 14 to turn on its pivot 15, so that its angle pushes downward or draws upward at 16 on the uprights 12, and the result will be that the main frame 10 will be raised or lowered at its rear end as the hand-lever18 is pushed forward or drawn backward, respectively.

The construction of themain frame 10, with the exception hereinafter noted,is not essential; but I consider this mechanism for raising and lowering the frame at its rear end as quite an advantage.

Mounted on the rear end of the main frame is the seedbox 20, having the usual perforated bottom, and over the latter slides a perforated plate or damper 21, which projects beyond one end of the seedbox, as seen.

21l is a lever pivotally connected at its lower end with this damper, pivotally attached at 22 to abracket on the adjacent end of the seedbox and above such pivot, passing through a slotted plate 23, also carried by the seedbox, and 24 designates one or more set-screws on this lever for engaging said slotted plate to hold the lever and damper in adjusted position. It will be clear that by moving this lever properly the holes in the damper-plate may be brought more or less into or out of register with the perforations at the bottom of the seedbox, vthe object being to permit a greater or less flow of seed therefrom, as desired.

The agitator consists of a comb 25, standing upright and pivoted, as at 26, in the ends of the seedbox, while its fingers depend from its body and have horizontally-extending tips 25', which are adapted to be moved above the damper-plate, as will be clear. One end of the shaft of this comb is cranked, as at 26', and is connected by a pitman-rod 26 with4 a trip-lever 27, one end of which is pivoted at 27 on the main frame 10 and the other end of which projects normally between the spokes 0f one of the rear wheels. The body of this trip-lever passes through a slotted guide 28, carried on the main frame, and 29 is a spring for retractingthe lever after it has been moved by contact with one of the spokes.

In Fig. 6 is shown a slightly-modified form of mechanism for driving the agitator constructed as follows: The pitman 26" here connects with an intermediate lever 26a, which is pivoted on the frame 10, and a second pitman 26" connects this lever 26n with the triplever 27, which is constructed practically as described above. I have in this view shown the spring 29 as attached to the rear of the seedbox instead of being mounted on the frame and connected by a link 29 with the crank 26', as shown, and it will be clear that this spring might be used on the other construction of agitator-driving mechanism or that the guide 28 might be used with either or both the levers herein shown without departing from the spirit of my invention. It will be thus seen that as the machine progresses the spokes of the rear wheel draw the trip-lever forward, and thus through the link or links swing the agitator forward within the seedbox. As soon as the spoke has passed the outer end of the trip-lever the spring 29 or 29 draws this lever, and hence throws the crank quickly to the rear, and the comb-teeth are suddenly moved to the rear within the seedbox, thus effecting a thorough agitation of the seed.

As best seen in Fig. 5, the plowshare 30 is carried by a colter 31, which has an L-shaped body, with its foot defiected slightly forward at its lower end, as at 32. The horizontal portion of said body extends into a slot in the rear end of the main frame 10, and 33 is a brace extending obliquely from this portion to the upright portion, so as to hold the parts in their proper relative positions. Behind the colter is the drill-tube 34, extending downward from the seedbox 20 and registering at it-s upper end with one of the openings therein, while its lower end 35 is adapted and intended to deliver the seed into Ythe furrow formed by the share 30. There is a gang of these plows and drills supported by the rear end of the main frame 10 and connected by through-bolts 36, 37, 38, and 39, the bolts 36 and 38 also connecting the braces with the L-shaped bodies above described. The portions of the main frame lO between the slots at its rear end stand between the colter-bodies, while washers 40 are strung on the throughbolt 36 where seen in Fig. 3. It will thus be seen that the forward movement of the machine forces the shares 30 to break new or hard soil and to open a series of furrows, while the movement of the agitator causes the dropping of the seed (in quantities regulated by the damper) so that they fall into these furrows behind the shares. By setting the main lever 18 the depth of the furrows,

and hence the depth of the planting, may be adjusted at will, or the shares can be lifted entirely out of the ground and the dropping of the seed stopped by proper manipulation of the damper.

All parts of this machine are of the desired sizes, shapes, proportions, and materials, and considerable change in the details may be made without departing from the principle of my invention. It will be clear that by simply lifting out the king-bolt 3 and removing the bolts 13 from the uprights 12 the entire seeder will be disconnected and can be removed from the running-gear, after which the latter may become part of an ordinary farm-wagon. This feature I consider important, as also the point that draft on the seeder is applied direct to the main frame thereof instead of to the running-gear, which often bends or breaks the king-bolt and other connections, especially when the ground is hard or obstructions are encountered.

1. The combination with a wagon runninggear of ordinary construction; of a seeder supported by a main frame adapted to rest on said running-gear and having an opening for the king-bolt, uprights detachably connected with the rear axle and projecting through said main frame, and connections between said uprights and frame, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination with a wagon runninggearA of ordinary construction; of a seeder supported by a main frame adapted to rest on said running-gear and having an opening for the king-bolt, uprights detachably connected with the rear axle and having pivots in their upper ends, such uprights projecting through said main frame, eyes on said frame,

IOO

an L-shaped lever whose body is pivoted in said eyes and whose angle is connected to the pivots of the uprights, and a hand-lever for adjusting the position of the L-shaped lever, as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a seeder, the combination with the running-gear whose front axle carries the shafts or pole; of a main frame mounted on said gear and having an eye at its front end to which the draft-power is attached, and plows and seeders carried by said frame, as and for the purpose set forth. v

4. In a grain-drill, the combination with the main frame slotted at its rear end; of a series of colters having L-shaped bodies and whose lower ends are deflected forward, their horizontal portions being seated in the slots of the frame, shares carried by their lower ends, a seedbox, drills leading therefrom, braces connecting the upright and horizontal portions of the colters, washers between their upright portions, and transverse bolts extending through the colters, washers, and lower ends of the braces, and also through the horizontal portions of the colters, the frame, and upper ends of the braces, substantially as described.

IIO

5. In a seed-planter, the combination With the seedboX havinga perforated bottom, a perforated damper-plate adjustable thereover, and a comb-shaped agitator mounted therein with its back journaled in the ends of the box and its fingers depending therefrom and bent at their lower ends into horizontal tips standing over said plate, one end of said journal being cranked outside the box; of a trip-lever connected With said crank, a spring for moving the lever suddenly in one direction, and meansfor moving it in the other direction and releasing it, as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have-hereunto sub- 15 scribed my signature on this the 9th day of March, A. D. 1898. A

J AMES TRAVIS, JR.

Witnesses:

C. L. JOHNSON, P. L. RUNYAN. 

